Monday, January 28, 2008

Last year's film, based on Jon Krakauer's book of the same name and written for the screen and directed by Sean Penn, recounts the story of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch in the film) who in 1990 gave up all his possessions, money, and identity and tramped his way through the country, ultimately ending up in Alaska where he would tragically perish.

In reality whether or not McCandless was foolhardy or brave is not for me to say. What I will say is that "Into the Wild" makes me think.

It makes me think about how deeply in love I am with the city of Chicago and yet how much I miss the plains of Iowa, most especially in the spring and summer when a thunderstorm rolls in.

It makes me think about how much I cherish complete silence and yet how much difficulty I would have existing without my Ipod.

It makes me think about how grateful I was to see the sites where "Last of the Mohicans" was filmed all by myself and yet how happy I was to have my sister with me last year in Maine at "The Myth of Fingerprints" gazebo.

It makes me think about getting on the train after the movie and sitting behind two annoying blonde girls who smelled of hairspray and wishing that I was in the Alaskan wilderness.

It makes me think about how any of us may at one time or another rail against the various wiles of society and yet how, in truth, society has a fairly big upside.

It makes me think about how much I still hate phones.

It makes me think about a line from a different film, "Without Limits", and how it perfectly describes the journey taken by McCandless. "It was to test the limits of the human heart. And that he did."